Value Village

600 questions for when you are stuck or curious on a trip to Japan

What people who come to or live in Japan usually misunderstand. 600 questions, all with sources. If reading does not settle your question, you can send a request to people on the ground.

Everything here is a draft (before legal review; sources not yet verified). Answers on beauty and health will not be published until checks under Japan's Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act are complete.

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100 questions

Q. What do people get wrong about drugstores in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about convenience stores in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about 100-yen shops in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about cash and cards in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about bringing food home from Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about packing for summer in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about humidity in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about onsen etiquette in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about tattoos and bathing in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about tap water in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about souvenir choices in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about tax-free shopping in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about customs on the way home from Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about rubbish bins in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about sorting rubbish in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about sunscreen labels in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about SPF and PA in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about cosmetics labels in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about expiry dates on cosmetics in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about skincare product names in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about IC cards (Suica, PASMO) in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about coin lockers and luggage forwarding in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about bringing medicine into Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about vending machines in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about allergy labelling on Japanese food? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about tipping and restaurant etiquette in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about over-the-counter medicine in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about power plugs and voltage in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about SIM cards, eSIM and pocket Wi-Fi in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about coin laundries in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about Japanese supermarkets? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about department stores and depachika? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about Japanese home centres (DIY stores)? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about consumption tax in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about carry-on rules on Japanese flights and trains? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about face masks in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about Japanese hotel rooms and amenities? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about reading a Japanese menu? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about queueing and reservations in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about clothing and shoe sizes in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about packing for a Japanese winter? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about the rainy season (tsuyu) for travellers? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about sentō (public bathhouses)? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about eating while walking in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about convenience-store food and onigiri? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about instant noodles in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about matcha and matcha products? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about vegetarian, vegan and halal food in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about posting souvenirs home from Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about sales seasons and fukubukuro in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about Japanese toilets (washlets)? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about train etiquette in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about taxis in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about earthquakes as a visitor to Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about typhoon season for travellers? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about smoking rules in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about temple and shrine etiquette? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about staying at a ryokan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about driving in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about wagashi (Japanese sweets)? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about pollen season as a visitor to Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about buying toiletries in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about when to take shoes off in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about ekiben (station bento)? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about what a Japanese convenience store can do? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about Japanese addresses and finding a place? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about Shinkansen tickets and rail passes? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about Golden Week, Obon and New Year travel? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about cherry blossom and autumn foliage timing? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about photography etiquette in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about travelling in Japan with children? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about accessible travel in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about lost property in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about withdrawing cash in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about eating alone in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about buying electronics and cameras in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about seeing a doctor in Japan as a visitor? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about hotel and restaurant cancellation rules in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about tattoos at gyms, pools and beaches in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. What do people get wrong about buying omiyage and having gifts wrapped in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. Can I rent a bicycle in Japan, and what are the rules I might not expect? Before you come to Japan
Q. Can anyone climb Mount Fuji? What do first-timers get wrong? Before you come to Japan
Q. Are Japanese beaches safe for swimming? Jellyfish, rip currents and the rules Before you come to Japan
Q. Visiting Japan in winter: what do people get wrong about snow, skiing and getting around? Before you come to Japan
Q. Why did the restaurant turn me away at 8:30 pm? Opening hours, last orders and closing days in Japan Before you come to Japan
Q. What should visitors know about drinking in Japan? Sake, shōchū, the legal age and where you can drink Before you come to Japan
Q. Can I take a big suitcase on the shinkansen? The oversized-baggage rule Before you come to Japan
Q. Renting a house or apartment in Japan (Airbnb, minpaku): what do visitors get wrong? Before you come to Japan
Q. What are the emergency numbers in Japan, and what is a kōban? Before you come to Japan
Q. Buying a Japanese kitchen knife or ceramics: how do I get them home? Before you come to Japan
Q. Can visitors use PayPay and other QR-code payment apps in Japan? Before you come to Japan
Q. Are Japan's highway and overnight buses worth it? What visitors get wrong Before you come to Japan
Q. How do ferries work in Japan? Island-hopping, car ferries and the long-distance routes Before you come to Japan
Q. Capsule hotels, manga cafés and other places to sleep cheap in Japan: what should visitors know? Before you come to Japan
Q. Game centres, crane games and gachapon: how do visitors play without wasting money? Before you come to Japan
Q. How do I get tickets for sumo and baseball in Japan, and what should I expect? Before you come to Japan
Q. How do Japanese fireworks festivals work, and how do visitors get a good spot? Before you come to Japan
Q. Is Japan's nightlife safe? Touts, "bottakuri" bars and how to avoid being overcharged Before you come to Japan
Q. Visiting Japan for work: business cards, meetings and the etiquette that matters Before you come to Japan
Q. Leaving Japan: the departure tax, airport timing, tax-free checks and what visitors forget Before you come to Japan